UnitedHealthcare Will Pass Drug Rebate Savings on to Consumers

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Rebates can vary widely; drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, for instance, are deeply discounted, while medicines for rare conditions have modest rebates or none at all. People in plans with high deductibles who buy drugs that carry large rebates will see the greatest savings, Mr. Schumacher noted.

Although the rebate-sharing program will not solve the issue of rising drug prices – a problem for which both insurers and pharmaceutical companies have come under fire – it could alleviate some of the financial pressure on customers.

Employers who self-insure already have the option of passing the discounts onto their workers. For example, CVS Health has offered rebates to its employees since 2013.

Source: The New York Times, March 6, 2018; UnitedHealth Group press release, March 6, 2018.